


Tokens of Affection

by vvitchering (Witchering)



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Feelings Realization, Ficlet, Fluff, Gift Giving, Introspection, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:13:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23089138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witchering/pseuds/vvitchering
Summary: Eventually, Jaskier would realize there was more for him in the world than tagging along with an irritable witcher. He’d bid Geralt farewell and that would be the last he’d see of him. That was the way of things.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 25
Kudos: 398





	Tokens of Affection

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ninemelodies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninemelodies/gifts).



Traveling with a poet was an interesting experience. Not that Geralt had much experience in the matter, apart from the current poet that was following in his footsteps like a lost lamb. He glared and growled, subjected Jaskier to the worst of his witcherly charms, and yet the man stubbornly remained by his side. Happily, even. Like traveling with Geralt was the greatest gift he could have possibly been given. 

Well.

There was no accounting for taste these days.

Eventually, Jaskier would realize there was more for him in the world than tagging along with an irritable witcher. He’d bid Geralt farewell and that would be the last he’d see of him. That was the way of things. No permanence, no bonds, no attachments. It was better that way. Geralt kept waiting for the day when Jaskier would pack his things, shake Geralt’s hand, wish him well, and disappear from his life. How many songs could one lonely witcher provide inspiration for? And yet, Jaskier stayed. 

Oddly enough, Geralt began to realize he didn’t mind the bard’s presence nearly as much as he thought. While Jaskier was loud, rash, overly emotional at times, his company was a balm on Geralt’s lonely soul. Now when he spoke there was someone to answer. When his injuries were out of his reach, there was someone to smooth salve on his battered skin. When the silence became oppressive rather than peaceful, someone was there to fill the air with pleasing sounds. He would miss this, he realized, when Jaskier finally left. 

Jaskier continued to show no signs he was itching to move on. He bore Geralt’s foul moods with sunny smiles and knowing eyes, but was not afraid to stand up for himself if he felt Geralt was out of line. Not many humans were brave or foolish enough to stand toe to toe with an angry witcher and Geralt found himself respecting Jaskier’s tenacity. 

And then he began finding them. A colorful rock worn smooth by a river in his pack. A small jar of sweet preserved fruits tucked away in his spare clothing. Flowers spread amongst his bedding. Small things, objectively unimportant, but unimaginably sentimental to Geralt. He had never received something simply because the giver wanted to share the joy it inspired. Jaskier saw beauty in everything. Even, apparently, in a beaten-down witcher. 

“Will you answer me honestly if I ask you a personal question?” Jaskier asked one night as they lay in their bedrolls under the stars. 

“You’ll ask it anyway, regardless.” Geralt responded.

Jaskier laughed gently and waited patiently, as he always did. 

  
Geralt sighed.

“Ask your question, bardling.”

“Are you happy?”

  
  
He was taken aback by how little time it took him to arrive at an answer. An honest one, as requested, no longer able to deny Jaskier anything. He thought of Jaskier’s smile, the tokens he continued to find on a near daily basis, the precious gift that was the bard’s presence in his life. How even after all that time, after so many others had left, Jaskier had _stayed_.

“Yes. I am.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little gift for @ninemelodies for their birthday! I'm so sorry it ended up being so short! But I hope it's soft and fluffy and sweet enough to rot your teeth just a little :) Apologies for any strange tense shifting, as this is not usually the one I use, and it refused to be written any other way. It's after midnight as I type this, so I'll come back and make edits as necessary when I've had some sleep~


End file.
